Buy an Eastern calligraphy wall scroll here!
Personalize your custom “Eastern” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “Eastern” title below...
2. Asian Pride / Oriental Pride / AZN Pryde
4. Bounce Back / Stage a Comeback
5. East
8. Hanko
9. Lim
10. Live For The Day
11. Longevity / Long Life Wishes
12. Responsibility
13. Tibet
14. Wolf
15. Work Unselfishly for the Common Good
16. Yesim
17. Old, But More Vigorous in Spirit
18. Hua Tuo
19. Tarzan
This is the Chinese name for the territory of American Samoa (formerly known as Eastern Samoa).
This should not be confused with Independent Somoa which is to the west.
If you want just a general “Samoa” title, just use the plain “Samoa” entry, as it does not actually designate western, eastern, American, or independent.
See Also: Oceania
東方自尊 is the universal way to write “Asian Pride.”
We worked on this one for a long time. The effort involved both Chinese and Japanese translators and lengthy discussions. If you have been searching for this term, there is a reason that it's hard to find the way to write “Asian Pride” in Chinese and Japanese - it's because of the inherent difficulties in figuring out a universal combination of characters that can be read in all languages that use forms of Chinese characters.
This final solution that you see to the left creates a reasonable title in Chinese and an exotic (perhaps unusual) title in Japanese (This could be read as “Eastern Self-Respect” in Japanese”).
Although not as natural, it does have the same meaning as Korean Hanja, and the older generation of Vietnamese people will be able to read it.
The first two characters literally mean “Oriental” and the second two mean “pride,” “self-esteem,” or “self-respect” (we chose the most non-arrogant way to say “pride”). If you have “Asian Pride” (sometimes spelled Asian Pryde) these are the characters for you.
Note: For those who wonder, there is nothing technically wrong with the word “Oriental.” It is a correct word, and any bad meanings were created by so-called “Asian Americans” and Caucasians in the United States. To say “Asian” would not completely correct the intended meaning since that would include people from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, India, and portions of Russia.
For further proof, if you were of East Asian ancestry and born in England, you would be known as a “British Oriental” (The “Oriental stigma” is basically an American creation and, therefore, applies mainly to the American English language - where they get a bit overzealous with political correctness).
Further, since the Chinese and Japanese word for Oriental is not English, they can not be construed as having ill meaning. On one trip to China or Japan, you will find many things titled with these two characters, such as malls, buildings, and business names. These places also use “Oriental” as their English title (much as we do since our Chinese business name starts with these same two characters).
In short, the first two characters have the meaning that Americans attach to “Asian” but is more technically correct.
青龍 is a scholarly title for “Blue Dragon” or “Azure Dragon.”
You'll find this title used in ancient Chinese literature and astronomy. This dragon has dominion over the eastern sky or eastern heavens. The Azure Dragon is also noted for representing the spring season. Also seen as an auspicious omen.
Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty canonized the five colored dragons as “kings.” The Azure Dragon represents the most compassionate of kings.
In Japanese, this title is known with the same meaning but can also be a given name, Seiryuu or Seiryu.
Note, the first character can be written as OR . Same character, just two ways to write it.
東山再起 is a Chinese proverb that means “make a comeback” or “resuming after a failure.”
It's sometimes used in terms of losing a job and then getting it back. However, it applies to any kind of comeback after difficulty.
The literal meaning of this Chinese idiom is, “[The] Eastern Mountain Again [will] Rise.”
東 is the direction East in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
Sometimes used as an abbreviation for the Eastern Hemisphere.
This can also be the surname Dong in China.
In Japan, this can be an abbreviation for a kind of six-stringed zither, or the personal name, Yamato.
東 is used as a suffix for many words in Asia. In fact, it's part of the CJK word 東方 meaning Orient or Oriental. The word 東方 more literally translates as “Eastern Kingdoms,” “Eastern Countries,” or simply “The East.”
This is the Chinese, old Korean Hanja, and traditional Japanese name for Eastern Europe.
Please note that Japanese use an alternate/simplified version of the character for Europe - it also happens to be the same simplification used in mainland China. Click on the character to the right if you want the Japanese/Simplified version of this two-character Eastern Europe calligraphy.
海東劍道 is the Korean martial arts style that means Eastern Sea Sword Way.
The character meanings break down this way:
海 = Sea
東 = East/Eastern
劍 = Sword
道 = Way/Path/Style/Method
This can sometimes be romanized as “Hae Dong Kum Do,” “Haidong Kendo,” “Hae Dong Geom Do,” “Haedong Geomdo,” or “Haedong Kumdo.”
If you want this written in modern Korean Hangul (해동검도) instead of Hanja (Chinese), click on the Hangul characters next to the Korean flag above, instead of the regular button.
林 is the Chinese character for the surname Lim.
The meaning is small forest.
林 is a surname in many dialects but with varying romanizations:
Lín (Mandarin)
Lam, Lum, Lem (Cantonese)
Hayashi (Japanese)
Lim (Thai)
Lâm (Vietnamese)
Ling (Eastern Min, Northern Min, Wu Chinese)
Lim, Liem (Min Nan or Hokkien, Teochew, Korean, Taiwanese Minnan, Indonesian)
活在今天 is not an eastern concept, so it does not translate into a phrase that seems natural on a wall scroll.
However, if this is your philosophy, the characters shown here do capture your idea of living for today or living in the moment. 活在今天 says “Live in today,” and they are grammatically correct in Chinese.
Note: This kind of makes sense in Korean Hanja but the grammar is Chinese, so it’s not that natural in Korean.
A wish for a long and prosperous life
福如東海壽比南山 is a phrase that means “May you have good fortune as great as the eastern oceans, and may your life last as long as the southern mountains.”
In ancient Chinese mythology, the eastern oceans and southern mountains are where God resides (basically it is the same as saying “heaven”). So it's like saying, “May your good fortune and life be as vast as the heavens.”
There is also a longer, 14-character version of this phrase. Also, this can be cut into two scrolls (with half the phrase on each side - great for hanging on either side of a doorway). Just let me know if you'd like a special version (there is an additional cost).
責任 is the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean word for “responsibility.”
責任 can also refer to someone who is willing to take the blame when things go wrong (instead of making excuses or passing the blame to someone else). While this is a noble idea, I think it is getting rare these days in both eastern and western cultures.
Also associated with the idea of "duty."
西藏 is the Chinese and Japanese name for Tibet.
It is a vast area in southwest China for which the Chinese government has little control (except in the capital of Llasa). During your travels in Tibet (outside of Llasa) you will find it is rough country full of ruthless bandits and honorable and upright Living Buddhas. There are about 2000 Living Buddhas in Tibet, and at least 10 times more bandits ready to ambush you on the road or trail.
On the eastern frontier of Tibet, you will find the place designated to be Shangri-la. It's a friendly village of Tibetans and is the gateway to greater Tibet.
The full official Chinese name is Tibet Autonomous Region or 西藏自治區|西藏自治区. The name here, 西藏 is quite old - from several dynasties ago.
狼 is the character used to represent the elusive animal known as the wolf in both Chinese and Japanese.
If you are a fan of the wolf or the wolf means something special to you, this could make a great addition to your wall.
Do keep in mind, that much like our perception of wolves in the history of western culture, eastern cultures do not have a very positive view of wolves (save the scientific community and animal lovers). The wolf is clearly an animal that is misunderstood or feared the world over.
狼 is seldom used alone in Korean Hanja but is used in a compound word that means utter failure (as in a wolf getting into your chicken pen - or an otherwise ferocious failure). Not a good choice if your audience is Korean.
克己奉公 is a Chinese proverb that is often used to express how one should act as a government official. Most of us wish our public officials would hold themselves to higher standards. I wish I could send this scroll, along with the meaning to every member of Congress, and the President (or if I was from the UK, all the members of Parliament, and the PM)
This can also mean: “Place Strict Standards on Oneself in Public Service.”
The story behind this ancient Chinese idiom:
Cai Zun was born in China a little over 2000 years ago. In 24 AD, he joined an uprising led by Liu Xiu, who later became the emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Later, the new emperor put Cai Zun in charge of the military court. Cai Zun exercised his power in strict accordance with military law, regardless of the offender's rank or background. He even ordered the execution of one of the emperor's close servants after the servant committed a serious crime.
Cai Zun led a simple life but put great demands on himself to do all things honorably. The emperor rewarded him for his honest character and honorable nature by promoting him to the rank of General and granting him the title of Marquis.
Whenever Cai Zun would receive an award, he would give credit to his men and share the reward with them.
Cai Zun was always praised by historians who found many examples of his selfless acts that served the public interest.
Sometime long ago in history, people began to refer to Cai Zun as “ke ji feng gong.”
See Also: Unselfish | Selflessness | Altruism
Age is just a number
老當益壯 is a Chinese proverb that means “old but vigorous” or “hale and hearty despite the years.”
Said of someone who is more spirited when he/she grows older.
The story behind this Chinese proverb:
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a man named Ma Yuan. He had been planning to herd animals on the frontier since he was young. When he grew up, Ma became a minor official of a county.
Once, he was sending some prisoners to another location. He felt pity for them, so he set them free, and then he fled to another county in the north. He herded animals there, and thus his dream came true. He always said: “If you want to be a great man, the poorer you are, the firmer in spirit you have to be; the older you are, the more spirited you should be.”
Later, when he was even older, Ma Yuan became a famous general of the Eastern Han Dynasty and contributed to many battles.
華佗 or Hua Tuo was a Chinese physician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty.
The historical texts Records of the Three Kingdoms and Book of the Later Han record Hua Tuo as the first person in China to use anesthesia during surgery.
Hua Tuo used a general anesthetic combining wine with a herbal concoction called 麻沸散, literally, “cannabis boil powder.” This was in the second century AD, almost 1700 years before western medicine had any form of anesthesia (1846).
泰山 is Tarzan (a fictional character reared by apes in the jungle) in Mandarin Chinese.
The meaning of 泰山 is large mountain.
泰山 can also represent Taishan township in New Taipei City, Taiwan.
This can also be Mt. Taishan (or Tai Shan) in Shandong, the eastern sacred mountain of China.
In Japanese, this can be the surname Yasuyama or that same Mt. Taishan in China.
虚実 is a Japanese word that means “falsehood [and] truth” or “fiction [and] fact.”
This concept is used in warfare, gameplay, and martial arts strategies. 虚実 can be a strategy of real and/or deceptive moves. This gets to some Sun Tzu Art of War stuff where in warfare a strategic move is either a real and serious move or it is a deceptive blow.
Let's explore each character in more depth:
虚 was originally written 虛 (there is a very subtle difference in the strokes at the bottom of the character) and means unpreparedness, falsehood, emptiness, void, abstract theory, empty or unoccupied, diffident or timid, false, humble or modest, virtual, or in vain.
In the Buddhist context, 虛 represents the Pali/Sanskrit word “śūnya,” meaning empty, vacant, unreal, unsubstantial, untrue, space, humble, or in vain.
In ancient Eastern/Chinese astronomy, 虛 represents the “Emptiness” constellation (one of the 28 mansions in the sky).
実 was originally 實 in Chinese (they currently write it as 实 in Simplified Chinese) with the meaning, truth, reality, sincerity, honesty, fidelity, and substance.
The Buddhist context is similar, adding real, true, honest, really, solid, definitely, sincere, solid, fixed, full, to fill, fruit, kernel, verily, in fact, the supreme fact, or ultimate reality to the definition.
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
American Samoa | 美屬薩摩亞 美属萨摩亚 | měi shǔ sà mó yà mei3 shu3 sa4 mo2 ya4 mei shu sa mo ya meishusamoya | ||
Asian Pride Oriental Pride AZN Pryde | 東方自尊 东方自尊 | tou hou zi son touhouzison to ho zi son | dōng fāng zì zūn dong1 fang1 zi4 zun1 dong fang zi zun dongfangzizun | tung fang tzu tsun tungfangtzutsun |
Blue Dragon Azure Dragon | 青龍 / 靑龍 青龙 | sei ryuu / seiryuu / sei ryu | qīng lóng qing1 long2 qing long qinglong | ch`ing lung chinglung ching lung |
Bounce Back Stage a Comeback | 東山再起 东山再起 | dōng shān zài qǐ dong1 shan1 zai4 qi3 dong shan zai qi dongshanzaiqi | tung shan tsai ch`i tungshantsaichi tung shan tsai chi |
|
East | 東 东 | higashi / tou higashi / to | dōng / dong1 / dong | tung |
Eastern Europe | 東歐 东欧 | tou ou / touou / to o | dōng ōu / dong1 ou1 / dong ou / dongou | tung ou / tungou |
Haidong Gumdo | 海東劍道 海东剑道 | hǎi dǒng jiàn dào hai3 dong3 jian4 dao4 hai dong jian dao haidongjiandao | hai tung chien tao haitungchientao |
|
Hanko | 班固 | hanko | bān gù / ban1 gu4 / ban gu / bangu | pan ku / panku |
Lim | 林 | lín / lin2 / lin | ||
Live For The Day | 活在今天 | huó zài jīn tiān huo2 zai4 jin1 tian1 huo zai jin tian huozaijintian | huo tsai chin t`ien huotsaichintien huo tsai chin tien |
|
Longevity Long Life Wishes | 福如東海壽比南山 福如东海寿比南山 | fú rú dōng hǎi shòu bǐ nán shān fu2 ru2 dong1 hai3 shou4 bi3 nan2 shan1 fu ru dong hai shou bi nan shan furudonghaishoubinanshan | fu ju tung hai shou pi nan shan fujutunghaishoupinanshan |
|
Responsibility | 責任 责任 | sekinin | zé rèn / ze2 ren4 / ze ren / zeren | tse jen / tsejen |
Tibet | 西藏 | seizou / chibetto seizo / chibetto | xī zàng / xi1 zang4 / xi zang / xizang | hsi tsang / hsitsang |
Wolf | 狼 | okami | láng / lang2 / lang | |
Work Unselfishly for the Common Good | 克己奉公 | kè jǐ fèng gōng ke4 ji3 feng4 gong1 ke ji feng gong kejifenggong | k`o chi feng kung kochifengkung ko chi feng kung |
|
Yesim | 耶斯姆 | yé sī mǔ ye2 si1 mu3 ye si mu yesimu | yeh ssu mu yehssumu |
|
Yesim | 耶希姆 | yé xī mǔ ye2 xi1 mu3 ye xi mu yeximu | yeh hsi mu yehhsimu |
|
Old, But More Vigorous in Spirit | 老當益壯 老当益壮 | lǎo dāng yì zhuàng lao3 dang1 yi4 zhuang4 lao dang yi zhuang laodangyizhuang | lao tang i chuang laotangichuang |
|
Hua Tuo | 華佗 华佗 | huá tuó / hua2 tuo2 / hua tuo / huatuo | hua t`o / huato / hua to | |
Tarzan | 泰山 | yasuyama | tài shān / tai4 shan1 / tai shan / taishan | t`ai shan / taishan / tai shan |
Kyojitsu: Falsehood and Truth | 虚実 | kyo jitsu / kyojitsu | ||
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. |
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.
When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.
Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
Some people may refer to this entry as Eastern Kanji, Eastern Characters, Eastern in Mandarin Chinese, Eastern Characters, Eastern in Chinese Writing, Eastern in Japanese Writing, Eastern in Asian Writing, Eastern Ideograms, Chinese Eastern symbols, Eastern Hieroglyphics, Eastern Glyphs, Eastern in Chinese Letters, Eastern Hanzi, Eastern in Japanese Kanji, Eastern Pictograms, Eastern in the Chinese Written-Language, or Eastern in the Japanese Written-Language.
25 people have searched for Eastern in Chinese or Japanese in the past year.
Eastern was last searched for by someone else on Feb 28th, 2024